Wolf Pack’s defensive gap is being gap sound

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — It seems ludicrous that a defense can go from being so good to being so bad during a 20-minute break.

But it happened. And what’s worse, as far as Nevada football coach Brian Polian is concerned, it’s happened a lot this season.

The Wolf Pack held Colorado State without a touchdown in the first 30 minutes. It swarmed to the ball and held CSU running back Kapri Bibbs to 52 yards on 11 carries, a respectable 4.7 yards per attempt, as Nevada took a 7-6 halftime lead.

In the second half, Bibbs amassed 260 rushing yards and four touchdowns as the Rams ran away with a 38-17 victory, Nevada’s fifth straight loss.

Colorado State running back Kapri Bibbs (5) crosses the goal line for a touchdown with Nevada linebacker Jordan Dobrich in pursuit Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo. (David Zalubowski/AP)

Bibbs’ total of 312 rushing yards was a school record, and he ended up averaging more than 10 yards per carry. The big blows were TD runs of 28, 59 and 85 yards.

The Wolf Pack allowed more rushing yards to Bibbs in the second half alone than its season average of 257.7, which coming into the game ranked 121st out of 123 FBS teams.

“… Obviously, when you give up all those rushing yards, it’s just unacceptable,” said Polian, who called the performance “embarrassing.” “I’m going to get it fixed.”

Polian’s major frustration is that he said the Rams didn’t do anything on offense that the Wolf Pack hadn’t seen in the first half. It was the same execution issues that have plagued the defense all year, even if the unit has seen improvement in the past few games.

“Too many of these long runs,” Polian said. “(Wolf Pack defenders) are getting too nosey in the wrong gap, and it’s the same stuff we stopped in the first half. It’s not like the concepts changed at halftime.”

Even players on the offensive side of the ball were shocked by the about-face.

“Yes,” senior tackle Joel Bitonio said when asked if he was surprised. “We weren’t, like, ‘Oh, they’re going to run for 300 yards in the second half,’ or anything like that. We came out (of halftime) and thought we had a good game plan both ways. They just out-executed us. They’re the better team.”

Gap assignments have been the Wolf Pack’s biggest Achilles’ heel on defense this season.

“(It’s) lack of composure, lack of executing the things we practiced all week,” linebacker Jordan Dobrich said. “… I think it just comes down to that. It’s the mental errors that get us. …

“We have nowhere to go but up.”

Polian went to a familiar refrain when it came to fixing the problems.

“We’re making young-guy mistakes at inopportune times,” he said. “My hope is the fan base, the alums, the administration, everybody will stay patient. When you play young guys, they will make young-guys mistakes.”

About this blog

Longtime RGJ Media reporter Dan Hinxman is the authority on Wolf Pack athletics, bringing you the day-to-day coverage of Nevada’s sports teams. Dan has covered almost everything the Northern Nevada sports scene has to offer and will use his knowledge to bring you authoritative and engaging Wolf Pack content. Follow him on Twitter at @DanHinxmanRGJ.